Vancouver Whitecaps fire head coach Martin Rennie

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By Rudi Schuller

The Scottish coach was relieved of his duties after he failed to lead the club to the 2013 MLS playoffs. Vancouver finished with more points this season than in 2012.

The Vancouver Whitecaps announced Tuesday that they have parted ways with head coach Martin Rennie.

"I would like to thank Vancouver Whitecaps FC’s ownership group for giving me the opportunity to be the head coach of the team for the last two years," Rennie said in a statement released by the club. "Every decision we have made in the last two years has been with the long term success of the club in mind, and I am convinced that the team is now poised to contend for trophies at every level and meet the expectations that everyone in Vancouver has."

The Scotsman took over head coaching duties in November 2011. In his first season in charge, Rennie led Vancouver to a 43-point season, guiding the team to its first ever MLS postseason.

In 2013, the Whitecaps improved their tally, finishing with 48 points. However, the club failed to make the playoffs in an improved Western Conference, and it also did not meet its preseason goal of winning the Canadian Championship for the first time.

Those factors turned out to be fatal for Rennie's tenure in Vancouver, and the Whitecaps are now heading in a different direction despite an improvement in total points and goals scored. The club also won its first Cascadia Cup of the MLS era, but that piece of silverware was not enough to save the 38-year-old from the chopping block.

“These decisions are never easy and include a lot of thought and analysis," Whitecaps president Bob Lenarduzzi said. "We have made a number of improvements since joining Major League Soccer; however, in order for this club to continue to grow and reach the next level, now is the right time to make this change and move in a different direction.”

The Whitecaps did not immediately name a successor to Rennie, but several reports have placed former San Jose Earthquakes and Canadian national team head coach Frank Yallop as the frontrunner for the position.